This paper proposes a new nonparametric test for conditional independence, which is based on the comparison of Bernstein copula densities using the Hellinger distance. The test is easy to implement because it does not involve a weighting function in the test statistic, and it can be applied in...

Modeling insurance claim counts is a critical component in the ratemaking process for property and casualty insurance. This article explores the usefulness of copulas to model the number of insurance claims for an individual policyholder within a longitudinal context. To address the limitations...

In the spatial model of voting, voters choose the candidate closest to them in the ideological space. Recent work by (Degan and Merlo 2009) shows that it is falsifiable on the basis of individual voting data in multiple elections. We show how to tackle the fact that the model only partially...

The authors indicate and describe two groups of elements which influence customer's perception of the Internet vendor's service: the first group is connected with marketing tools, traditionally used in retailer market, the second is connected with the other company's marketing actions. Both...

This paper aims to examine the determinants of the visitors' expenditure behavior at Christmas Markets. We have analyzed the visitors' expenditure at micro-level, dividing them into spending on accommodation and on food and beverage. The explicative variables taken into account are...

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to shed light on the threats to quality in mixed methods accounting research, wherein quantitative and qualitative approaches are combined in data collection, analysis and interpretation. Design – Our paper is framed according to the following three...

This article analyzes the credit rating agency reform provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act's “Improvements to the Regulation of Credit Rating Agencies” in light of the massive failures in the ratings of structured finance securities leading up to the 2008 credit crisis. The primary cause of...

This paper uses a set of routinely collected high-frequency data in low-income countries (LICs) to construct an aggregate and a comprehensive index of economic activity which could serve (i) as a measure of the direction of economic activity; and (ii) as a useful input in analyzing...

We argue that Islamic principles, in particular the avoidance of ribā and gharar should be applied with respect to real economic value rather than to monetary value in terms of conventional currency. In order to reconcile monetary value with economic value, we propose a reference currency...

Electricity markets feature a non-storable underlying, which implies the break down of traditional cash-and-carry arguments as well as the well-known spot-forward relationship. We introduce the notion of information premium to describe the influence of future information - such as planned power...